Corey Dickstein/Savannah Morning News A Savannah-Chatham police officer drives an animal control truck into the Savannah-Chatham Animal Control Shelter on Sallie Mood Drive Wednesday. Although the shelter is currently under a two-week quarantine for respiratory illnesses found in animals there, officers are still able to respond to emergency calls.

Corey Dickstein/Savannah Morning News A sign placed outside the Savannah-Chatham Animal Control Center -- that was placed under a 14-day quarantine Tuesday by the Georgia Department of Agriculture -- advises of the public restriction to the facility and how people can go about adopting animals off site.

Corey Dickstein/Savannah Morning News A sign placed outside the Savannah-Chatham Animal Control Center -- that was placed under a 14-day quarantine Tuesday by the Georgia Department of Agriculture -- advises of the public restriction to the facility and how people can go about adopting animals off site.

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Although public access to the Savannah-Chatham Animal Control Shelter has been halted during a two-week quarantine mandated Tuesday by state officials, interested people can arrange adoptions off site.

Savannah-Chatham animal control officers noticed several animals demonstrating symptoms of an upper respiratory illness over the past few days, prompting them to call in the Georgia Department of Agriculture for an inspection, animal control officer Christina Sutherin said Wednesday.

After that afternoon inspection, the agriculture department imposed the 14-day quarantine period, its minimum restriction length, to allow the illness to run its course, Sutherin said.

Although she was unsure exactly how many animals were directly affected by the upper respiratory illness — a broad term describing a typically non-fatal illness characterized by coughing, sneezing and nasal discharge — Sutherin said all of the animals had likely been exposed.

“It only takes one animal to come in with a virus or to come in with a bacteria, and it can spread,” Sutherin said. “It’s just like having a child in day care and having someone get the flu or someone get strep throat and then the next thing you know everyone has it, and that’s how it works here... Unfortunately, it was bound to happen at some point.”

While the shelter staff is treating the affected animals’ symptoms, they are also caring for the animals still in the facility and making efforts to fully sanitize the shelter before it reopens once it has cleared another state inspection.

Until the facility does reopen, those who are interested in adopting animals can visit one of two animal rescue websites, www.petharbor.com or www.poundpupsinneed.com, where photos and descriptions of available animals are posted.

Potential adopters can then contact Friends of Animal Control Team Savannah at 912-484-4438 or Pound Pups at 912-401-2991 to arrange adoption of an animal.

They will not, however, be able to interact with or personally inspect those animals during the quarantine period, Sutherin said.

Adopting pets during the quarantine, she added, could help the facility control the spread of the illness.

“That’s one of the reasons we are allowing the animals — with the state veterinarian’s (approval) — to be adopted (off site),” Sutherin said. “Because the more animals we can get out of here that are not going to be affected by this ... the better.”

Those who do adopt will be advised of the facility’s current situation and instructed to seek inspection of the animals by a veterinarian.

People who have recently adopted an animal from the facility, Sutherin said, should also consider bringing their pets to a vet.

So far, she said, animals in the facility are doing as well as can be expected.

“Everybody’s doing fine; everybody’s got waggly tails, and aside from the cough and that same kind of feeling we (humans) get when we get general colds and things of that nature, it seems to be OK,” Sutherin said. “We are continuing to consult our veterinarian, who is guiding us through as different symptoms come up, (about) what we need to do to take care of this situation.”